The City of Columbia Planning Commission has approved an amendment to the city’s zoning ordinance to allow high-density housing (private dorms), in land zoned as C-3. There are several C-3 properties on Rosewood Drive, mainly between Assembly Street and A.C. Moore Elementary and near Midlands Tech. This map shows C-3 zoned land on Rosewood Drive.

The current ordinance prohibits high-density housing within 600 feet of a property zoned as residential. The amendment would reduce that distance to 300 feet if the property is buffered by a railroad, an arterial street, or commercial zoning. A C-3 property cannot have high-density housing if the property line is within 600 feet of a property that is zoned as residential. Most, if not all, of the C-3 properties on Rosewood Drive directly border a residential property and thus do not meet this 600 foot requirement.

Zoning Administrator Brian Cook attended the last RCC meeting and informed us that he did not think any land zoned as C-3 on Rosewood Drive would be allowed to build high-density housing. Mr. Cook informed us that there were areas near the stadium that would possibly be able to build such housing. City Council will hold a public hearing on this matter at its November 18 meeting.

The Montessori School of Columbia, located on Oceola in Rosewood, plans to expand their campus. The school has purchased the home at 415 S. Maple Street and is in the process of purchasing the home at 413 S. Maple St. They plan to demolish both homes and construct a new building on their property. View the architect’s renderings here.

You can see pictures of the proposed building on the school’s website. Please note these plans were developed before the opportunity to purchase 413 S. Maple became available and the parking situation has changed.

The RCC executive committee has asked the city’s planning commission to renew the temporary community character overlay in place now in Rosewood. This zoning overlay requires a homeowner to get permission for moving or demolishing a home more than 50 years old, and before constructing new homes on a newly subdivided lot.

Over the next two years, the city planning department will be rewriting the zoning codes for the whole city. While we feel confident that most people in Rosewood are in favor of the overlay–based on the survey conducted by the planning department in 2011, conversations with neighbors, and discussions at meetings–we only asked for temporary protection to allow for flexibility when the new zoning designations are unveiled. The planning commission approved the overlay on August 5, 2013. The zoning public hearing will be held on September 17, 2013.

At the request of a neighbor, the Rosewood Community Council filed public comments on February 14 regarding the proposed sidewalks on South Walker Street as part of a Safe Routes to Schools grant. Read those comments here.

As part of a Safe Routes to School grant, the Department of Transportation (DOT) has presented plans to install a sidewalk on one side of South Walker St. between Heyward St. and Harvard Ave. Click hereto review a map of the preliminary plan.

A committee of volunteers and parents from Rosewood Elementary School had requested traffic calming devices on Rosewood Drive, including a stop light at S. Walker Street. The DOT District Office determined a traffic light at that intersection was not feasible. The current plan prioritizes a sidewalk on South Walker.

Nine trees along South Walker will have to be removed to make way for the sidewalk construction. Trees to be removed are marked in yellow.

John-Mark Glaz, a S. Walker resident, has shared these comments voicing his concerns with the proposed project. He plans to submit the comments with a few dozen neighbors’ signatures.

The DOTheld a public meeting on Thursday, January 31st, where they shared the plans for the infrastructure changes. The Department is asking for public comments to be submitted by February 14, 2012. If you live on or near S. Walker, what do you think about the proposed plan?

Richland County has proposed a one penny sales tax to fund transportation projects such as road, bike, pedestrian, and greenway improvements throughout the county. The tax will be subject to a referendum on the November 6 general election ballot. Among the projects in Rosewood are:

bikeways on Rosewood Drive, S. Ott, Holt, and Superior,

a greenway along Gills Creek,

road improvements on Commerce Drive,

pedestrian improvements on Wiley Street, and

seven pedestrian intersections along Rosewood Drive.

Map of proposed Rosewood projects that would be funded from the penny tax. Click to enlarge.

Here’s an article from The State newspaper describing the proposed spine road on Commerce Drive and the railroad relocation at the intersection of Rosewood and Assembly.

See the links below for more information on the tax and the proposed improvements.

The City of Columbia has called a press conference and meeting tomorrow morning (July 25) at 9:30 a.m., on the second floor of City Hall, to discuss the recent developments with the Seaco expansion, including today’s news of lead contamination in the groundwater. More information about that development is available here. If you are available at 9:30 a.m., please join us to discuss the neighborhood concerns about the Seaco expansion with our elected leaders. Public input is extremely important. If you’re not available, please contact our City Council members to share your concerns. RCC’s concerns include:

Rosewood is a 3000+ home neighborhood with 8 parks and 4 schools. It’s a neighborhood, not an industrial park.

This expansion threatens the public’s health. Threats to public health demand an immediate response.

This expansion threatens planned developments like the All Local Farmer’s Market relocation, Curtiss-Wright hangar renovation, and other local businesses that make the neighborhood a great place to live and work.

The City of Columbia Planning Staff spent over a year speaking with neighborhood leaders, holding public meetings, and conducting a survey of neighbors to develop this plan.

After months of public input from the neighborhood–and hearing the need for traffic calming and sidewalks in the neighborhood, zoning changes to prevent out-of-character development, and remedies to the barriers to public transportation and walkability–city planning staff developed this document. The plan was recommend for adoption by the Planning Commission on June 4, 2012 and adopted by City Council on July 10, 2012. This non-binding document will be used by City Planning and the neighborhood when making future decisions about development in the neighborhood. The Rosewood Community Council will continue to work with city planning staff to implement the measures in the plan.